House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called the use of encrypted communication a “tremendous threat to the homeland” on Wednesday. At a hearing called “Terrorism Gone Viral,” about possible lone-wolf terrorists, the Texas Republican warned: “They have the ability to go on to what’s called ‘dark space’ — to go on to another platform that is ‘secure-com’ that we don’t have the ability to monitor these communications.”

But in an interview with The Intercept, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif, made light of McCaul’s fears.